When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
Parallel translations
- WEB But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
- KJV But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
- NKJV And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
- NASB Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath!”
- NLT But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Pharisees accuse the disciples of breaking the Sabbath by harvesting. Their charge rests on man-made traditions rather than God's actual law.
Overview
The Pharisees regarded plucking grain as unlawful 'reaping,' a violation of their detailed Sabbath regulations. Their accusation exposes a legalism that multiplied burdens beyond Scripture. Jesus' coming reply will distinguish God's merciful intent for the Sabbath from the Pharisees' rigid traditions.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Matt 12:10and a man with a withered hand was there. In order to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
- John 7:21–24Jesus answered them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed.
- Luke 14:3So Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”
- Exod 20:9–11Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
- Mark 3:2–5In order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.
- Exod 31:15–17For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death.
- Luke 13:10–17One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,
- John 5:16–17Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him.
- John 9:14–16Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath.
- Isa 58:13If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words,
- Exod 35:2For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death.
- John 5:9–11Immediately the man was made well, and he picked up his mat and began to walk. Now this happened on the Sabbath day,
- Luke 6:6–11On another Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.
- Num 15:32–36While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
- Exod 23:12For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.
- Luke 23:56Then they returned to prepare spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 12:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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